Pump, engine, and the like



Aug. 7, 1928. 1,679,592

' A. L. WILLIAMS iuur, ENGINE, AND THE'LIKE Filed Feb. 20, 1926 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 A Illllll H] ATTORNEYS Aug. 7, 1 928.

A. L. WILLIAMS PUMP, ENGINE, AND THE LIKE Filed Feb. 20, 1926 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 ATTORNEYS UNITED S S ATENT OFFICE;

ALFRED L. WILLIAMS, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIAQ PUMP, ENGINE, AND-THE LfKE.

Application filed February 20 i926, Serial No.; 89.596.

This invention relates to pumps, engines, and the like, ofthe kind disclosed in the pattent of'C. H. Varley, No. 1,560,624, Nov. 10, 1925. In these devices there is a displacing clement designated as a displacer, mounted within an enclosing-casing. Depending on whether the deviceis used as a pump or an engine, the displacer is either driven or drives so that all points of the displacer move within the casing in circles of similar diameter, the movement beingtermed paracyclic movement. The dlsplacer is so mounted within the casing that in such paracyclic movement all points on the surface of the displacer come into proxim ty with corresponding points on the inner Wall of thecasing. Under some circumstances the displaccr may contact with the inner wall of the casing so that the movement of the displacer H may be said to produce a traveling zone of contact between the displacer and easing, although contact itself maybe avoided, but there may bean extremely wide clearance between displacer and casing.

In the engine or pump as shown in the patent of Varley, above identified, the displacer is shown'in one form as substantially the shape of a horseshoe, and itis mounted within a cylindrical easing into which extends a web serving as a partition. The web lies between the spaced ends of the displacer, and the endof the web occupies a'portion of the open center of the displacer. A central drive shaft is employed which is at one'end supported in a bearing formed in the end of a bolt, by which the cover plate for the casing is held in position, and th is drive shaft, through suitable gearing, operates a pair of cranks which in turn, by their rotation, impart to the displacer'its paracyclic movement. The operation of the device depends on the fact that the displacer in its movement approaches very closely to the inner face of the casing, and this zone of close approach or contact, as the case maybe, travels throughout the extent of the inner face of the casing. In practice, the displacer itself does not actually contact with the cas ing, but carries packing blocks whichmakes such contact, these blocks being resiliently mounted and extending a slight distance be yond the face of the displacer.

lVhile the engine or pump above described is suitable for many purposes, some difliculties may arise owing tothe presence of the packing blocks, which are spring-pressed to working position. ,It isdesirable that these packing blocks "be omitted, because of the greater simplicity of the manufacturing op eration by which the displacer is made, and

between the cranks and the displaccr, such that the displacer andthe casing may be brought .so'olose together at the region of contact that'the necessity of providing pack 'ing' blocks is avoided.v Furthermore, the connection between the cranks and the dis placer is such that although the displacer and casingin the traveling zone of contact have an extremely small clearance, yet in the event that foreign matter of any kind enters the casing, and lodges between the displacer and the casing at any, point, the connection will yield so that the displacer'will ride over the foreign'matter without imposing anundue strain either upon the casing or the displacer, I T In the accompanying drawings there are shown different views of the 'improvedengine'or punip, and I Fig. 1 is an elevation of one: forn of the device with the front cover plate and certain other partsremoved,

2 is a horizontal section. on the line 22ofFig.1,

Fig! '3 is a sectional view on the line 3-3 of'Figfl, J I

Fig. 4 is a sectional viewthrough the connection between the crank and the displacer, but showing a modified construction,

Fig.5 is a View similar to Fig. 1, showing a different construction, Figs. 6 and 7 'are'sectional views on the lines 66 and 7-7 respectively of Fig. 5,

and I other modified form.

Referring now to the drawings, the dev ceis seen to cons st of a casing'lO, mounted on a base'll, this casing being of generally cylindrical form. The casing is provided with a central web'lQ, and isclosed by front and rear cover plates 13 and .14 respectively. The vdisplacer 15, which is of horse-shoe shape, is enclosed between the central web 12 and the front cover plate 13, these parts forming the outer working face for the displacer. An inner working face is provided by a cylindrical boss 16, carried by a web 1?, the latter acting as a partition which divides the two sides of the easing into intake and exhaust chambers. The front cover plate 13 is secured to the central web bya bolt 18, carrying a nut 19, the inner end of the bolt being recessed to receive the forward end of the drive shaft 21.

Combined'driving and guiding means for the displacer are illustrated at 22, and consist of small auxiliary shafts carrying discs 23 from the forward faces of which extend square pins 24. The auxiliary shafts are mounted in suitable bearings formed in the central web and are packed by packing glands generally designated 25. To the rear of the central web the main shaft carrise a pinion 26, meshing with similar pinions 27 and 28 on the auxiliary shafts 22.

The displacer is provided with a circular aperture 29 in either arm, in which 1s placed acircular bushing 30 having a rectangular slot in which is received the square pin 24. The bushing 30 terminates, at its outer end in a round portion or pin 32, which is centrally placed and extends beyond the end of the displacer and lies within the cavity 29. On this pin is mounted a bushing 33. A stout coil spring 34 lies in the slot 31 and bears at one end against the end of the slot and at the other against one face of the pin 24. This spring is undcr compression so that the bushing will be moved by'the spring as far to the right 31s possible, as shown in Fig. 1. Thus the bushing is held eccentric to the pin 24 by means of this spring, but its eccentricity depends on the extent to which the springis collapsed. A spring 35, one end of which enters a vertical channel 36 in the displacer, bears at its lower end against the bushing 33 encircling the pin 32, and this spring supports the displacer with respect to the bushing 30.

lVith the construction described, it will be seen that as the shafts 22 are driven from the main drive shaft 26, the bushings 30 which are held in eccentric relation to the pins 24 by means of the springs 34, will cause the displacer to have a paracyclic movement, and the extent of this movement will depend on the length of the slot 31 formed in the bushing 30. The bushing is normally held by the spring 34, so that the square pin 24 will lie at the extreme end of the slot and in this position the parts may be constructed so that there is a minimum clearance at the points 37 and 33, between the faces of the displacer and the bushing and inner face of the casing respectively.

Should any foreign matter lodge on the inner face of the casing, or in any other way get between the face of the displacer and the face of the boss or the casing at the point where contact is to occur, the springs 34 may yield, thus reducing the eccentricity of the bushing and permitting the displacer to ride over the foreign matter. As soon as the foreign object has been passed, the spring will act to move the bushing and with it the displacer, to its normal position with reference to the casing and boss.

It will be seen that if the pins 24 rotate for example, counter-cloclnvise, as shown in Fig. 1, when the movement has passed through 90, the springs 34 willbe in the vertical position, so thatif no spring 35 were employed, the weight of the displacer would rest entirely on the spring 34, and the weight of the displacer would therefore cause the springs 34 to collapse to some extent and thus reduce the eccentricity of the bushing, and in turn vary the clearance between the displacer and the stationary parts. This would be undesirable, and in order to overcome it, the springs 35 have been made use of, these springs always lying in the vertical position and always acting to support the weight of the displacer. ings 33 which are loose on the pins 32 and the pins being disposed centrally of the bushings have only a slight radius of circular movement as the displacer is moved by the bushing. The springs therefore always occupy a substantially vertical position. The springs are relatively weak, so that when the two sets of springs 34 and 35 are opposed, the springs 35 may be collapsed by the force of the springs 34, so that the eccentricity of the bushing is not reduced thereby.

These springs bear on the bush- In Fig. 4 a somewhat modified arrangement is illustrated, although the purpose served is the same as that above described. Here the auxiliary shaft 22 terminates in, a portion 39 which has a bore 40 formed through it, through which extends a pin 41. The ends of this pin enter openings in the walls of the bushing, and the pin has a free fit in the bore 40. A spring 42 encircles the pin 41 and tends to hold the bushing eccentric with relation to the pin 40 so that the same action is produced as before. The bushing is driven by the engagement of the pin 41 in the bore 40, and is held eccentric with relation to the pin 39 by the spring 42.

In Fig. 5 there is shown a somewhat modified form of construction which serves the same purpose as in the construction previously illustrated. In this arrangement the disc 23 is provided with an eccentric pin 43 which lies within a recess 44, formed in the displacer. A link 45 is freely connected to the pin 43 at one end, and at its other to a'pin 46 carried by the displacer. With this arangement it willbe seen that the rotation of'the crank causes the displacer to be moved withfthe usual paracyclic movement, but that a pressure'is exerted against the face of the boss 16 at the point47. This pressure is a proportion of the load at right angles to the crank arm, and depends on the angle between the axis of the crank arm and the axis of the link, which may be called the angle 6. Should any foreign substance lodge between the inner face of the displacer and the boss at the point 47, the displacer may swing about the pin 43 and rideover the obstruction, and the amount which the dis placer will swing will depend on the length of connection between the displacer and the driving mechanism. In this construction the displacer has an opening 48, in which is received a crank pin 49, extending from the disc 23, and the hole 48 is made somewhat larger than the pin. Thecrank pin is constructed to describe a circle of larger diameter than it is possible for the displacer to follow, due to contact with the walls of the casing. In the revolution of the crank pins they exert a pressure on the displacer which is not at right angles to the cranks, but is in a direction such that there is a component toward the nearest part of the, casing. The presence of foreign material between the displacer and the casing will cause the displacer to move relatively to the cranks, due to the loose fit of the crank pins in the holes in the displacer, but such a change in position results in increasing the component of the force exerted by the pin on the displacer and directed so as to force the displacer toward the casing. The greater the obstruction, the greater will be the force exerted on the displacer in a direction toward the casing, but owing to the freedom of movement of the displacer relative to the pins, a considerable clearance between displacer and casing is permitted so that the displacer will ride over ordinary. obstructions without causing damage either to the cranks, the displacer, or the casing. The displacer is normally supported in the position illustrated in Fig. 8, in which the crank bears against the lower side of the opening in the displacer by reason of the resistance of the fluid being umped. This prevents the displacer from ropping down so that it would rest on top of the pin.

' Whereverthe phrase :traveling zone of contact appears, either inthe" specification or'the accompanying claims, it is intended ,to includethe close approach'of the displacer to the casing, even though no actual contact occurs.

I claim 1 scribed,- comprising adisplacer element en tirely enclosed and adapted-tobe displaced within a chamber in such manner as to maintain a traveling zone of contact with the walls thereof, the chamber having inlet and outlet ports, crank members connected I i Y V 1.'An' engine or-pump of the kind 'de- I to the displacer element, a yielding connection between the crank members] and the dis-' placer, these crank members being adapted to rotate and also to guide thedisplacer in such manner that all points thereof move in circles of similar diameter, and the yielding connection permitting a variation in the diameter of the circles last mentioned.

- 2. Al1'-611gl118 orpump ofthe kind described, comprising a displacer, a'casing' enclosing said. displacer, inlet and outlet ports in the casing, a rear cover plate, a central web, a drive shaft, a pair'of crankmembers disposed between the cover plate and the central web and driven from the drive shaft, and a yielding connection betweenthe displacer and the crank members such that the rotation of the crank members by the drive shaft imparts a paracyclic movement to 7 said displacer theamplitude of which may be varied.

3. An engine or pump of the kind del I scribed, comprising a displacer element entirely enclosed by and adapted to be displaced within a chamber in such manner that every point on the displacer moves through 'a circle of the same diameter, the chamber having inlet and outlet ports, a pair of driven crank members, and a connection between the crankmembers and the displacer by which the diameter of said circles through which the points on the displacer move may be varied.

4. An engine or pump of the kind set forth, comprising a casing having a central web and a front cover plate forming a chamber, inlet and outlet ports in the casing, a drive shaft, a pair of auxiliary shafts drivenby the drive shaft, a displacer element lying in the chamber, bushings in the element, and yielding means mounted be tween the bushings and the aux-iliary'shafts by which the'bushings are held eccentric to the shafts and serve to impart a paracyclic movement to the element as the shafts are rotated.

5. An engine or pump of the kind set forth comprising a casing having a central web and afront cover plate forming a chamber, inlet and outlet ports in the casing, a drive shaft, a pair of auxiliary shafts driven by the drive shaft, a displacerelement lying in the chamber, bushings mounted in the element and provided with slots, extensions from the auxiliary shafts entering the slots and having a driving connection with the bushings, and means in the slots for holding the bushings eccentric with relation to the shafts whereby the rotation of the shafts imparts a paracyclic movement to the element through the bushings.

6. An engine or pump of the kind set forth, comprising a casing, inlet and outlet ports in the casing, a displacer element in the casing, driven auxiliary shafts mounted in the wall of the casing and having a driving connection with the element, means carried by the shaft and having a variable eccentricity for imparting a paracyclic movement to the element, and means interposed between the shaft and the element for yieldingly supporting the element with relation to the shaft.

7. An engine or pump of the kind set forth, comprising a casing, inlet and outlet ports in the casing, a displacer element in the casing, a pair of driven shafts mounted in the wall of the casing, these shafts having portions of square cross section, circular V bushings mounted in the displacer and provided with rectangular slots into which the square portions of the shafts are received,

springs in the slots holding the bushings eccentric to the shafts whereby the rotation of the shafts will impart a paracyclic movement to the displacer element through the bushings, and yielding means disposed between the displacer and the shafts for supporting the displacer relative thereto.

8. An engine or pump of the kind Set forth, comprising a casing, inlet and outlet ports in the casing a displacer element disposed therein, a pair of shafts mounted in the wall of the casing, these shafts having portions of square cross section, a pair of bushings mounted in the displacer and provided with rectangular slots in which the square portions of the shafts are received, springs lying in the slots and bearing against the shafts and bushings to hold the bushings eccentric to the shafts whereby upon rotation of the latter the displacer will be given a paracyclic movement within the casing, extensions from the bushings, and springs supporting the displacer and bearinn on these extensions. s

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

ALFRED L. WILLIAMS. 

